What Will 2025 Bring?

Typical winter colors on a big Missouri River Rainbow.

El Niño was supposed to bring western Montana ample precipitation and colder than normal temperatures. Thus far, it’s kind of been a dud. Snowpack is less than normal, and we’re just now getting our first real cold weather of the year. Fishing traffic has been a bit slow as well, though it is starting to pick up.

Fish number appear to be strong again, though we always read the numbers below the Dam with a suspicion frame of mind. We know it includes quit a few hatchery fish from the lake that skew both numbers and average size. While a 22 inch fish is a 22 inch fish topmost anglers, we like to throw the hatchery ones on the bank for the Eagles and Cormorants to feast on.